The Proposed Cuts to the Food Stamp Program

Sept. 11, 2013

To the Editor:

Thank you for highlighting the reality for so many of the nearly 48 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) (“On the Edge of Poverty, at the Center of a Debate,” front page, Sept. 5), including the fact that many SNAP recipients need emergency food when benefits don’t last the month.

While many critics of the program extol the work of charities and neighbors helping neighbors, without SNAP, charities would not be able to meet the need. Food Bank for New York City is the largest food bank in the country, and the single, across-the-board cut to SNAP benefits scheduled for this November will take away more food in our city than we distribute in a year.

Further, the rhetoric about work requirements is completely disingenuous: the program already prevents able-bodied adults without dependents from receiving more than three months of benefits in any three-year period if they are not working.

SNAP is helping the most vulnerable among us — the working poor, children, seniors and the disabled — who should not be robbed of much-needed food assistance because of baseless myths about the program.

We need to refocus the dialogue on the greater issue: whether you are surrounded by corn fields or concrete, it is unacceptable for anyone to go hungry.

MARGARETTE PURVIS President and Chief Executive Food Bank for New York City New York, Sept. 6, 2013

To the Editor:

The projections of a jump in food insecurity are alarming. Children are not ready to learn and grow to their full potential — nor are parents prepared to succeed — when they don’t have regular access to fresh, healthy food.

The rise in food stamp use, and the looming catastrophe that comes with big cuts, is not simply an echo of the recession, but an indication that our food system needs repair. We should ensure that fresh produce is supported as much as commodity crops.

Projects like Double Up Food Bucks in Michigan stretch the value of food stamp benefits when used for fresh fruits and vegetables. It has a four-year record of success expanding access to healthy food and supporting local growers — and can be replicated nationally.

Ensuring the best for our children and nation requires that we bring a holistic perspective to our complex food system.